Worthy To Me
by Ray Shadows
Summary: The Tron family adopt a new dog because IV won't quit complaining about the old one.. but is this dog really all that it seems? Tron has his suspicions, so does V and IV isn't so sure that this dog will even meet his standards. Question is.. the dog really what it appears to be..? IV x OC.
1. Not a dog?

**AN: And here we see the natural OC.. I-I mean.. anyway.. this story is OC x IV. The girl is a Inu, which is a dog girl, I guess the equivalent of a neko? Yeah.. I hope I kept them in character enough, this is my first time writing a story with an OC, apologies if I didn't! This was made because this idea would not leave me alone.. and.. humor! Enjoy, ****_the ray waay.._**** in conclusion, this girl is probably as clueless as Astral at the beginning of the series sometimes. **

* * *

"Father why can't we get a new pet? You never even told us what happened to the old dog! " IV hissed out at his father, that dog was family too, they all deserved an explanation, well.. III hardly knew the dog; he was too young at the time to properly remember, V remembered though.

"It likely enough ran away, no one took care of it when you and III went off to the orphanage.. and V for research with the Tenjo's.. " He heard Tron state, so the dog.. was just gone..? He wished V had taken care of it or at least something!

"It's all V's fault, if he would have taken the dog with him.. " he isn't really sure, he just knew the dog was like a childhood companion, he was 17 years old now but he still missed the dog. Why wouldn't he? The dog had and always would hold a place in his memory.

"Well, how about this? We'll go get you a new dog, one all three of you can remember and take care of, sound fair? " He just widens his eyes at Tron's words.. fine but that dog wouldn't replace the old one.

"Great! Let's go! III, V! " Tron shouted throughout the house, the two walked down the stairs, curious of why they were needed. "Considering our old dog.. and your brother missing it, we're getting a new one, you all can decide, especially you, III.. since you were too young to remember our first dog. " All of his sons nod, well except for IV who just rolls his eyes still not believing that the dog can just be replaced, they exit the house and head to their car.

"Is V driving, father? " III asks, well Tron would drive if he still didn't look like a child, so V would drive not that he minded or anything, III got in the back with his nii-san and father as V drove off to the pound to adopt a new dog.

IV scowled "Why the pound? Why not just buy a new dog? " He sees Tron simply smile "Why do that when you can save another dogs life? " whatever.. his father had no right to say that, they didn't save their old dog.. he turns and looks out the window, still feeling a bit of anger over that.

"Oh come on nii-san! I'm sure we'll find a nice dog there. " III added as he leaned over and rested his head on his brother's shoulder, maybe III was right.. fine.. he'd give the pound a chance.

"We're here, everyone out. " V opened the doors and began walking to the entrance of the building with the rest of them close behind, they walked inside and were met with an employee "Hello there, here to adopt or browse? " the employee asked, V smiled "A little of both. " the employee showed them to the dog cages and told them to take as much time as they needed.

"How about this one, it looks cute, right nii-san? " III tapped IV's shoulder as he turned to the golden-coated dog, a Labrador..? Nah, lame, he looked at the dog further. "Not interested. " he turned and kept looking down the row of cages. Most of these dogs didn't meet his standards.

"IV, if you don't pick one out, III's choosing, you understand? " he heard the sternness in V's voice, whatever it wasn't his fault all these dogs were lame.

"V they're all lame, cut me some slack. " he had stopped at a cage and the dog that heard that didn't seem to happy, the dog put its paw to the cage, it had a fluffy coat, it almost reminded him of his old dog, it was white furred too with a touch of light pink. Maybe this dog could meet his standards. One of the employees tapped his shoulder "Interested in this one? She's very smart, seems to understand people very well. " He supposes.. it's better than letting III pick out some girly pocket-sized poodle. "Does she have a name? " he sees the employee shake his head, what but the dog was in pounded.. it had to have one.

"Doesn't respond to any name we have tried giving her so we just head over to her cage when it's feeding time to get her. " well that would be difficult.. a dog without a name, how would they call it, let alone name it.

"Do you still want her? " he turns to the dog whose staring intently at him, fine, he nods his head as the employee let's the dog out and hands IV a leash.

"Here you go, which one of you will be signing the paper work? " IV turns and points at Tron, at which the employee was confused "Isn't he only twelve? " and IV and V have to fight back a laugh as V responds "No, he's our father, you wouldn't understand if I told you, I'll sign if it's really a problem. " the employee shook his head and handed Tron the papers, IV simply put the leash around the dog, III ran over and happily hugged the dog and stating how cute she was and how she'd like her new home.

IV rolled his eyes and tugged the dog along, V examining the dog as it walked and Tron seemed hardly interested in it, he wasn't sure. They got to the car, where were they putting the dog? Wouldn't it jump around in the car?

"The dog can sit in the back with III and IV. " Tron sat in the passenger seat as V got behind the wheel; the dog seemed calm enough as they entered the back seats. The dog sat between III and IV, occasionally glancing back between the two. "See nii-san? The dog is calm, isn't that right Princess? " III pat the dog on the head, IV just blinked.. princess..? No way were they calling the dog that, way to girly, he'd name the dog something fierce like killer, the dog didn't respond to even princess though.

"Hah, the dog doesn't like that name! " IV mocked his brother who pouted, "Well if we knew what her name was, we wouldn't have to come up with nicknames would we? I'm calling her Princess; you can call her what you like till we figure out what she responds to.. right, princess? " He smiled at the dog, but the dog just stared with a very unimpressed expression.

"I told you. " IV repeated, the bickering seemed to go on till they reached home, he dragged the dog along into the house, they took off the leash once they were inside. "Hm, well the dog is very.. interesting, I expect you all to take care of the dog, let's divide things now, who's in charge of walking the dog? " Tron asked, he saw V raise his hand, mainly because he didn't trust them to walk it, he walked the old dog, it'd be no trouble. "Feeding the dog? " He saw III raise his hand, he just hoped the dog wouldn't be given table scraps, especially if the dogs pleading eyes got to him.

"That leaves you in charge of bathing the dog, understood? " he pointed at IV who rolled his eyes "Whatever. " now that, that was settled, he'd leave his sons to play with the new pet.

"Princess, do you know any tricks? " III raised a hand as he tried to teach the dog to shake his. IV rolled his eyes, this dog still hardly impressed him, and it hadn't met his complete standards yet. "If you're to be my dog, you have to meet my standards, you need a name, you sure as hell don't like being called Princess, right? " he asked, curious if the dog really did understand people well enough like the employee stated. He saw the dog shake her head.

"Then what do you want to be called? " if only dogs could speak, it'd be easier figuring out what the dogs actual name was. "Ah, forget it! " this was pointless; he stormed off to his room, the dog quickly chasing after him.

"Hey, wait, Princess! Nii-san is upset be careful! " III shouted after the dog that seemed to not be concerned in the least. IV closed his door only slightly, so the dog could hear him as he mumbled about how she was so difficult, and how she didn't meet his fan service expectations with being disobedient. Whatever fan service was, she didn't understand, she pushed the door open and trotted inside as she tilted her head starring intently at him once more. "What do you want? You can't respond to a name, what's the point of me trying to understand you? " IV hisses as the nameless dog jumps on his bed without any real effort it seems.

He refused to give the dog his attention if she wasn't going to coöperate with him, she too refused, and the dog was honestly as stubborn as him.

"Go away, shoo! " he made gestures so the dog would understand but still she hadn't moved. How was that dominance thing again? Show you're in charge of the dog? He forgot how it went, he glared at the dog, and putting his face close to hers as they matched each other's stubborn gazes, was a dog really supposed to be this.. human like? He looked at the dog's collar, it had some oval like rock in the middle, it was a ruby to be exact, he brought his hand closer as light shined from both the collar and his crest bracelet, the light filled through out the room, the light eventually faded, the dog was.. gone..?

"I don't know where your brother got the idea that my name would be Princess—" a voice, he opens his eyes fully and sees a girl sitting on his bed. "Whoa, hey! No more barking, you can understand me now, right? " He was in disbelief.. what the hell..? This wasn't their dog was it? "How did you, what are you?! " he demanded a little to forcefully which startled the girl. "The thing on your wrist reacted to my collar and this happened, I'm an Inu. " she smiled as her dog-ears twitched.

"The hell is an Inu and why are you naked?! " IV looked her over, thank god she was lying down, he could just see her bare back, he continued eyeing her, she still had dog ears, she also had a dog tail, almost reminded him of that girl around Heartland, Dog-Chan.

"A girl who is part dog, most commonly related to demons, I'm normal I assume. " she went on and stood up, not before wrapping the blanket around herself.

"Name is Espina. " she smiled as she held the blanket. "Sorry about the no clothe thing, it happens. " she saw him just starring in confusion still. "Change back then, what if one of my brothers see you? " he hissed out, she blinked "oh, right.. hm.. I am not sure how, I'm really tired of dog food, you should bring me something, " she wagged her tail, looked up at him with those pleading eyes "considering I can't leave this room, right? " he already disliked the new _dog_.

"We'll figure this out later, you don't move. " he glared as he went off to the kitchen, he was stopped by III. "Hey nii-san, where is Princess? " He shrugged, he couldn't let him see what she was.. could he?

"Father said he had some suspicion about her, I was going to get her, but I can't find her." He again shrugged as he held the cake in his hand. "I didn't know you liked my sweets nii-san! " he saw III smiling. "Yeah, they're really good, I couldn't help but grab another slice. " he lied, he did like his brothers pastries, just that it was for the dog, or whatever it was, Espina, right.

"Well, let me know if you see Princess! " he just nodded and walked off, he returned to his room to see Espina holding one of his cards, he tapped her shoulder, nothing. He startled her by saying "What do you think you're doing touching my things?! " she simply looked back, took the cake from his hand.

"I was curious, no need to yell. " she bit into the cake, hell of a lot better than dog food, she wagged her tail and IV saw her face filled with delight. "It's like you've never eaten cake before. " he rolled his eyes. "Cake.. so that is what this is? Very sweet, did the pink one make this? " She asked as IV gawked, who the hell was 'pink one' did she mean III? "You mean my brother?" Espina swallowed the last bite and blinked "That's your _brother_? "

"O-oh my god.. y-you thought.. III was a girl?! " IV stammered between his fit of laughter, the girl just blinked "You would never expect a boy to name a girl, Princess, you even wanted to name me _'killer'_.. something of not meeting your fan service standards? Is my name not good enough for you? " She hissed as she showed off her teeth, she hardly looked threatening though.

"No, Espina is fine, just how the hell were we to know that? " he saw her blink and lick the plate, he rolled his eyes, she still acted like a dog.

"Espina means Thorn, did you know that? Sounds better than Thorn though. " She leaned over and handed him back the plate. "Thank you for the meal. " She licked his cheek much like a dog would in thanking someone.

"Gross, dog germs. " he wiped his cheek, Espina blinked "Inu germs to be exact, I'm a talking dog, so dog is not exactly correct. " she sees him roll his eyes. "Whatever, who do you think you are, Astral? We'll figure out how to change you back by tomorrow hopefully, my job is to bathe you, go bathe or something.. " he pauses when he sees her throwing the bed sheet she had wrapped around her to the floor, he quickly covers his eyes.

"Not around me! You're not the smartest dog, inu, whatever, are you? " He still had his eyes covered. Espina shrugs "I thought you were to bathe me, what's the difference? " she wraps the bed sheet back around herself. "You aren't a dog right now, that's the difference, you're a girl! Guys don't look at girls while they change.. understand? " He saw her nodding as he opened his eyes, this girl was strange, sure he'd seen girls naked before but it didn't mean he had common decency to let her know that.

"Understood. " she simply said as she nearly opened the door when she was stopped. "Hold on, I'll get you one of III's dresses, don't ask. " he told her to wait, she waited, maybe then he'd stop calling her a disobedient dog, she sat on his bed with the sheets wrapped around herself, waiting.

"Hey, III! I need to borrow something. " He banged on his brother's door, out came III. "What is it nii-san? " He heard him whisper it out. "One of my c-clothes..? Why, is this a prank? " He saw his brother shake his head, fine.

"Fine, just you.. promise it isn't blackmail?" He took his brothers nod, as he could trust him, he handed him one of his clothes; it was a yellow dressy type outfit.

"Why do you have this? " he heard him ask, he rolled his eyes "Nii-san! Take it and go already!" He closed his door, leaving IV with the dress; his little brother was cute sometimes. He began walking back to his room; he opened the door and saw Espina still sitting on the bed.

"Here, put this on. " he tossed her the dress. "Where did you get this? " she dropped the blanket again, he covered his eyes again. "Do you have to change here?! " she slipped on the dress, hopped off the bed and twirled around.

"I'm finished, you may open your eyes. " he did just that, she seemed happy about the new clothing. "Now you can go bathe, just don't let them catch you, got that? Then we'll figure out how to change you back." He saw her nodding as her ears twitched, she exited and he sighed, what had he got himself into?


	2. Showering Catastrophe!

**AN: Here is the second chapter, and why yes she might start changing over time, she still has her mannerisms as a dog often though as she was in that form for a good long while, nothing more to say. Enjoy! A little Rio/IV mentioning, I might add a few 'canon' pairings along the way, plus I want the IV/Espina to ease in and go along slowly so that'll make it all the more fun! The picture cover is what Espina looks like, ****_RAYYY WAYY~ _**

* * *

Espina had walked into the hall, she looked around the hallway, and she still wasn't use to the surroundings of the house.

"Hey, nii-sama I'm seriously worried about Princess.. " it was the pink haired girl.. no.. boy right, he was a boy, she kept forgetting. Perhaps it was his femininity that kept causing her to mistake that. Oh, right she wasn't supposed to be seen. She took off down the hall quickly, legs a bit wobbly as she wasn't quite use to walking on two legs again. She ended up backing up into the door and stumbling backward as she fell against the floor. She shook her head as she stood back up. "Now.. how does one shower? " She paused and looked at the curtains. She pushed forward prying them away as she stepped inside and mulled over what to do next. "I'm so use to humans just performing this task for me, do I just..? " she turned the dial on the wall as water spilled from the shower head, "Ayiee!" she ended up hissing out as water dampened her hair and dripped off her canine ears.

"Oh now if I recall.. clothes weren't necessary for this task. " She shrugged as she began undoing her dress. The door knob was turning, she squeaked out "I'm indecent, do not proceed in entering! " still the knob turned, she let out a low bark as warning, realizing it came off more childish than threatening.

"I have my eyes covered, why the hell were you shouting? You don't want III or V to hear you, do you? " IV just shook his head and removed his hands from his eyes. "The hell did you do?! " He pushed her away from the shower curtains, not even caring that she was practically naked. "Hey! I told you I was indecent, weren't you the one claiming not to change in front of you? You're breaking your own word now.. you know.. " Espina flinched when he placed his hands on her shoulders, it frightened her, mainly his eyes, he seemed.. angry.

"That isn't the point, you're wetting the floor. You _DO_ know how to shower, you aren't that sheltered are you? " Now that was uncalled for.. she knew how to shower.. maybe. What the hell, did he just make a pound joke? "Quiet you, I will not hesitate to bite you." She didn't realize how awkward those words came out; she quickly grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself. "Very confident aren't we? I'm sure you're all bark and no bite, am I right _Princess_? " IV laughed which only proceeded to make her growl in annoyance, of all the owners she had, he was sure full of himself. "You know very well my name is Espina, " she rolled her eyes and added "at least my name isn't a roman numeral. " she twitched her ears and smirked, he just laughed, outright laughed and pressed a finger to her exposed shoulders.

"You do know that's a code name? Oh, but what would you know? You're a dog after all! " He proceeded in his laughter, she pushed him back and he saw the little angry expression she held. "Inu, you got that? Now are you going to give me a shower or not.. or at least show me how. " Great he was laughing again, wonderful, she wondered if she would be able to put up with him. "Oh you were serious? No, you're still a girl, further more.. you just turn the knob like you had done, rinse, shampoo and repeat until your whole body is cleansed, easy? Understand, puppy? " He patted Espina's head, her ears twitching and her anger ceased from the petting, any which way she was still a dog and still had some of the same mannerisms. "Oh.. thank you, IV. " Espina entered the shower, dropping her towel to the floor and closing the curtains.

IV simply nodded and closed the door, the girl, dog.. whatever she was, she was certainly interesting. "Nii-sama? Who is in the shower? I thought V was out as was father? " This is unexplainable, what is he supposed to say? That a dog.. their pet is taking a shower? "None of your business. " he sees his brother widening his eyes "Oh, nii-sama do you have a girl over? You can tell me! It's Rio isn't it? Gosh brother.. how did you get her so dirty that she needed too.. " III sees his older brother just slightly turning red, he was embarrassing him wasn't he?

"What?! No, III what the hell? Why would you even think that? " Okay, maybe it wasn't that unusual that he would bring a girl home considering all the fans he had, but come now he wasn't interested in just anyone, besides Rio was Ryoga's sister and even if he had been on a few dates with her, they weren't a thing, he honestly wasn't sure but he was better off just going along with this rather than explaining that their pet was showering. "Yeah, but she already left, a shame huh? I mean what's better than spending an evening with us?" Honestly he was glad half the girls he brought home hadn't met his father, they'd just be confused and concerned, well Rio wasn't but that wasn't the point. "But nii-sama, Rio always loves spending time with us at dinner. " that's true, damn his little brother for his attention to detail. "It isn't important who is showering okay? " he stomped off; he entered the bathroom once he had gone down the hall away from III.

Once he had opened the door, he was hit with water; of course she was still a dog so she was bound to still shake her self-dry. "Are you done? " he rolled his eyes rubbing off the water droplets that hit his face. "Mmhm, I'm also tired from this shower, as would a normal inu be. " she began walking back to IV's room. "Thomas, " she heard him speak, what the hell was that about? "My name is Thomas, but we have a habit of still calling each other our code names. " He finished as he entered the room and shut the door. "You aren't going to eat? " He raised an eye at her. "Can't, too tired, apologies.. I'll eat the coming of tomorrow. " She curled at the foot of his bed. Odd girl.. very odd.

"You realize you can sleep on the other side right, you aren't a dog right now? That and I make no promises of kicking you off in your sleep. " He smirked, he still was unsure why or how she was changed but he had figure out how to change her back. What if his brother or father found them in the midst of the night? He leaned over and gripped the necklace around her neck as she let out a whine. "Hey, hey what're you doing? I apologize; I'll eat if it bothers you! " She bowed her head, she was quite obedient at times, and then disobedient upon other times. "I'm trying to examine a theory I have," IV continued running his fingers over the gem on the necklace, he blinked and held the crescent bracelet on his wrist close to it. A light.. was it the same one from before. Why the hell did his crest have a connection to the dog.. girl's collar gem? "The hell did you do? "

How was this her fault? She didn't do anything; it was him who was touching her collar gem. She went to speak out and protest at his statement but all that came out was a yipping noise. Great her speech was back to this! "Grr.. grruff! " She yipped at him angrily as she jumped on him. "Whoah, hey now.. dogs aren't supposed to act up or they go outside~" he hummed in a mocking tone which only caused her to let out another bark. "Oh relax, Espina! I'll turn you back tomorrow; I just don't want V getting worried over why there's a girl sleeping at the foot of my bed. Plus III's been hounding me about you, little _princess_. " He laughed, he pulled the covers over his body and Espina waddled over and laid down on the side of him, shutting her eyes. She just hoped he was joking about how he'd push her off the bed. She hoped that he'd take her around to explore, she hadn't been around many humans in so long, she honestly forgot how this all had felt. "Woof" that was all that came out when she tried to say goodnight, oh well, that was the downside of being half inu.


End file.
